A celebrated filmmaker caught in flagrante delicto with a prostitute is a catalyst for debate.

While the Chinese government's crackdown on official corruption is creating a lot of smoke, it is the crackdown on vice, especially when it involves showbusiness personalities, that is the real sizzle.

Not a month has gone by this year without a top-name entertainer arrested for illegal drug taking, hiring prostitutes/spousal cheating... OK, the last part has nothing to do with the police as it is still within the realm of ethics rather than that of the law for a movie star to have a mistress. But tabloids are green with envy because the government has preempted them on their biggest strength, which is, digging up dirt around entertainment celebrities.